Transitions

Last weekend I attended the funeral of a colleague, Sandy Chappell. While I believe that Life is eternal, our existence on this plane as spirits having a human experience is limited.

In Sandy’s case, her years were far too limited for my liking and the liking of her many other fellow flight attendants, pilots, family and friends who attended the services. The fact that she was three months my junior was a jolt to my otherwise confident assumption about my own life expectancy.

I flew with Sandy many times over the past seven years that we were at the DC base. I did not know her well, but she appeared to have lived life fully and without regret. At least that’s what I’m choosing to believe. She was authentic, always smartly outfitted in her original flight attendant hat (no longer an approved uniform piece, but I never knew of anyone challenging her on that!) and, of course, her signature bubble gum pink lipstick. If there was a difficult passenger on board I always knew she could turn the customer around.

I want to be more like she was - sans the lipstick, not my shade – and simply be me. My friend, Arleen, lives by the adage “I neither defend, justify nor explain my actions. I let the results speak for themselves.” I never shared that with Sandy. I believe if I had she would have looked at me with a blank stare on her face as if to say, “Yeah…and?”

Be willing this week to pick up the phone or send a card (you know, the paper kind that requires a stamp) to someone you love. Let them know the difference they’ve made in your life. The Centers for Spiritual Living ministers on our listserv have been doing that this week with an amazing outflow of love and appreciation for those who mentor us in life.

It’s just life. We all have mostly the same issues. Let’s all help one another to enjoy it to the best of our ability. I think Sandy would have liked that idea. Safe flights now and forever, Sandy.